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GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Standing outside a beachfront restaurant on the shores of Lake Michigan, Mike Rogers didn’t want to talk much about national politics.
How would he vote on the multiple Senate-approved measures to condemn President Donald Trump’s tariffs? “I don’t know.”
Where does he stand on Trump’s paused “anti-weaponization” fund? “I’m not talking about any of that stuff. I don’t care. I mean, I care.”
As for the Iran war, he said he’d heard “hardly anything” from constituents on the trail about it.
Rogers, the presumptive Republican nominee in Michigan’s Senate race, is running a campaign that focuses as much as he can on local issues. While the Democratic primary becomes a brutal internecine clash, Rogers pivots almost immediately when asked about national controversies he’d have to weigh in on as a senator.
The 2026 midterms will be a “change election,” he told Semafor. That won’t necessarily make things easy for him, since he’s trying to turn the page from Democratic control of Michigan’s state government and its Senate seats by running to join a federal government where his Republicans hold all the power.
“The Democrats have been in charge here, and we’re going to change that,” he said of his home state, citing its recent increase in utility rates and decline in manufacturing employment — though the latter is part of a national trend that began when Trump returned to office.
Voters “know something’s broken,” Rogers added. “The Democrats are clearly responsible for it, and I’m going to be a part of that change.”
The former House lawmaker came up short in 2024 against now-Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, but Republicans are increasingly bullish on his campaign as one of their best opportunities to pick up a seat in a state the GOP hasn’t represented in 25 years. As supporters gathered at an Americans for Prosperity event, Republicans were feeling good.
Supporters lined up for selfies with the candidate and sipped red, white and blue mixed drinks wrapped in branded koozies as Rogers warned that “democratic socialists” were already in Michigan.
That reference to progressive Abdul El-Sayed’s strong polling performance ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary showed up in an AI-generated ad Rogers released on Saturday, depicting his potential general election opponent as Odysseus within the Trojan Horse of communism.
“I believe there’s going to be a red wave in November, and Mike Rogers is going to lead the way in the state of Michigan,” said Terri DeBoer, a former TV meteorologist who’s running to take on incumbent Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten in the local battleground congressional race.
Know More
Republicans are betting that a similar strategy to Rogers’ race in 2024 — when their opponents controlled the Senate and White House — will pay off against a fractured Democratic field.
Although most of Michigan’s Democratic establishment and national leaders have lined up behind Rep. Haley Stevens, she’s currently trailing El-Sayed in their contentious matchup. Republicans have responded by training more attacks on El-Sayed, whom they see as easier to beat in a general election because of his more left-leaning positions.
Rogers told Semafor he was confident he would beat either El-Sayed or Stevens in November.
“Common sense over crazy is going to prevail every time. And if you look at both of these candidates, they’re over there” in the crazy category, he said. “And then Abdul just takes it to a new level. And so, whoever comes out of this, we’re going to win.”
Even as Trump’s unpopularity creates a drag for swing-state GOP candidates across the country, Rogers is largely declining to break from national Republicans. He said that “I don’t stop long enough to say, ‘how are we different’” from Trump, though he urged the president to seek congressional authorization for further military action in Iran.
“The commander-in-chief has the authority and the ability to do a lot of what he’s doing. I just think working with the legislature is probably a better idea,” he said.
Room for Disagreement
Hours before Rogers spoke, El-Sayed sharpened his attacks on the Republican during an interview on the sidelines of an event in Kalamazoo, Mich. Brushing off a recent CNN report that Rogers privately told supporters he was in “good shape” against the progressive, El-Sayed seemed ready to bring his pugnacious primary strategy to the general election.
“If you’re on a call with your donors, that’s exactly what you would say,” El-Sayed said of Rogers’ reported comments. “Look, I think they have no clue how to run against somebody like me. They’re used to Democrats who run and try to hide. I don’t do that. I just throw punches.”
He went on to deride Rogers as “Temu Donald Trump” who was “even doing a spray tan.”
(Rogers later countered: “This guy couldn’t find the truth if it were his backside, and he had a backside map.“)
The View From Democrats
In nearly 20 minutes of remarks to a packed room of supporters on Saturday, El-Sayed didn’t even mention Stevens. Instead he looked past a nomination fight he hasn’t won yet, dubbing Rogers “Bowser,” a reference to the final boss in the Super Mario video games.
If El-Sayed prevails on Tuesday, he’d have a chance to become the first elected Muslim senator in US history. First he’ll have to contend with lingering divisions in his party, including some Michigan Democrats who are already noncommittal on supporting him in November.
He is already facing criticism from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has knocked El-Sayed for his harsh rhetoric about Israel. El-Sayed said that he would sit down with Fetterman to discuss the impasse further.
“I’ll meet with everybody. I’ve got nothing against meeting with folks,” said El-Sayed. “We’re going to disagree on a lot of things. I don’t know if [Fetterman is] still a Democrat or not. I guess that’s for him to decide.”
Nicholas’s view
El-Sayed may or may not be the easier Democratic nominee for Rogers to face in the fall, but his “change election” strategy is risky no matter who he’s up against.
With Trump’s approval ratings net negative in Michigan and outgoing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer still posting positive numbers, Republicans will have to work hard to convince voters that state-level Democrats are the problem.
Notable
- Rogers was an early establishment GOP favorite in the competition to become Trump’s second-term FBI director, Semafor reported at the time — though the job eventually went to MAGA-friendly Kash Patel.